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At age 94, Millie Gjertson doesn't travel as much as she used to. But she appeared to enjoy a trip Friday, Sept. 15, through Nisswa Lake Park via a golf cart. Gjertson recently donated $35,000 to kickstart development at the park that's on city-owned land on the west side of the Highway 371 tunnel on Nisswa Lake. Her donation will go toward trail development and other physical amenities, such as picnic tables, benches and barbecue pits.

NISSWA—Texas native Collin Thames always dreamed of moving away from his home state, and a Nisswa company and Brainerd organization helped make that dream come true last January. That's when Thames made the move more than 1,100 miles north to work for GrowthZone, a company based in Nisswa that provides management software and services for member-based organizations worldwide. He had help from the Brainerd Lakes Area Economic Development Corp.

The Pequot Lakes fire tower off County State Aid Highway 11 is no longer open for people to climb for a sprawling view of the area from high above the treetops. Keith Simar, a retired Department of Natural Resources forester, addressed the Pequot Lakes City Council on Tuesday, June 6, saying the DNR has said it won't do anything in the immediate future to take down the fire tower, but the state agency is open to another entity taking over management of the site.

Nearly five months after 56 Nisswa Lions Club members helped pack 20,000 meals at Kids Against Hunger-Brainerd Lakes Area in Nisswa, those meals are on their way to Haiti. The local Lions club donated $5,000 to Kids Against Hunger to pack emergency food for Haiti after Hurricane Matthew left thousands of people there in need of food. Cass Lake Lions Club members joined the Nisswa Lions in the packing event.

Pat Ganley made his mark in the restaurant business long before he bought what is now Ganley's Restaurant in downtown Nisswa. Ganley and his late wife, Sharon, owned Loydy's Diner in north Minneapolis for 16 years, until the restaurant had to be torn down to make way for Interstate 94. But many people who venture north from the Twin Cities today still remember Loydy's.

The Norway Center at Grand View Lodge in Nisswa was abuzz with fish stories and laughter Sunday, Oct. 9. What else would you expect when 20 current and former members of the Nisswa Guides League gathered for a reunion with family and friends? The gathering included three of the founders of the Nisswa Guides League—fishing "legends" Marv Koep and brothers Ron and Al Lindner. Ron Lindner recounted how they came up with the name while sitting around together 50 years ago.

At age 23, John Babinski is running the family business his grandfather founded in the way his grandfather taught him. "I've been part of the business since age 6," he said of Babinski Properties, a family-owned property management and development company with an office in Pequot Lakes and main office in Sioux Falls, S.D. "I've been part of the business forever, working with my grandpa and my dad side by side, helping out after school."

As the Minnesota walleye and northern pike fishing opener kicks off the tourist season this weekend, bringing the first main influx of trucks and SUVs hauling trailers with boats to lakes area roads, drivers should be aware of Highway 371 four-lane expansion work between Nisswa and Jenkins.

Area residents packed the Cole Memorial Building in Pequot Lakes on Friday to hear about the $49.9 million Highway 371 four-lane expansion project that's designed to improve safety and traffic mobility. The project encompasses nine miles from just north of Crow Wing County Road 18 in Nisswa to just north of County Road 16 in Jenkins. It includes a new alignment in Pequot Lakes, where the highway will go east of downtown.